Bump! IT'S FRED TIME!!
http://Vets4Fred.net It's time for Vets to sign up!
Posted on 08/31/2007 4:20:55 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Fred Thompson's entry into the Republican presidential field is expected to trigger a political tug-of-war in Georgia, with Savannahians on both ends of the rope.
Thompson's exploratory campaign representatives say the former U.S. senator from Tennessee will formally announce his candidacy next Thursday.
That sets the stage for a showdown between him and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, the nationwide GOP frontrunner in most polls.
Appealing to conservatives lukewarm about other candidates, Thompson surged ahead of Giuliani last spring in Georgia and some other states. He and Giuliani are running first or second in most states.
Dozens of elected officials, led by state Sen. Eric Johnson, R-Savannah, are on board with Thompson. They include Chatham County's entire GOP state legislative delegation.
Meanwhile, Tyler O'Connor, another Savannahian, is spearheading Giuliani's efforts in Georgia and three other states.
"This campaign is about to get far more interesting," Johnson said Thursday. "Thompson will rock the boat."
But Thompson's slowness to enter the race might have stalled his momentum, political strategists have said.
Not any more, said Savannah political consultant David Simons, who works with Johnson. The announcement, Simons added, "will mean his frontrunner status in Georgia will be solidified."
Thompson will do well in Georgia and across the South, University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock said recently.
"He fills the void in the existing GOP field, which lacked a serious candidate around whom conservatives could rally," Bullock said.
Other conservatives in the GOP field, he added, "lack the money, charisma and name recognition needed to break through the single-digit ceiling."
But Giuliani's campaign strategists are not conceding Georgia to Thompson. Giuliani is due to stump in Savannah and Atlanta on Sept. 13.
"We're in a very good position in Georgia," said campaign spokesman Elliott Bundy.
Bundy said Georgia's Feb. 5 presidential primary is a long way off, noted that polls fluctuate, and said they will continue to do so.
"We have a great leadership team," Bundy said.
State House Speaker Glenn Richardson, R-Hiram, is co-chairing Giuliani's state campaign.
"We're not concerned about what others are doing," Bundy said. "We're just going to keep focusing on our own efforts."
As if Rudy has a chance in the south. Rudy’s lone chance in the south will be Florida.
I’ll take the no-nonsense, likeable Conservative for 500, Alex.
These rooooooty people...
Oh yeah, he is announcing within the week...
oops.
Well, what I meant, he is still lazy and indecisive and he waited to long, his support is sliding...
Oh yeah he’s second in the polls before...
OK well them let’s say something stupid and frivolous about his wife then...
I take it you're not a gun-owner?
BTTT
What northern state were you from before moving to Georgia??
I am a Huckabee supporter, myself, and my husband finally decided Thompson is no longer his guy. He is supporting Huckabee, as well. Does Huckabee have a chance?
only in the blue spots.
Glenn Richardson...a hand picked, long time crony of our RINO Governor, Sonny Perdue...a former Democrat.
Not anymore. He outed himself as a nanny stater supreme with his national smoking ban. This guy is just to the right of Mussolini, and a very dangerous man.
I’m inclined to agree with what you said, but I wonder why Guiliani’s poll numbers have been as high as they have been. The only consideration I can see is people being concerned about the WOT in the south and perhaps Guiliani would be seen favorably for that reason. Nothing else seems to make sense about him.
I’m hoping strongly Fred will change the dynamics, and it won’t even be close.
Florida is changing politically. They have far more Republicans in Tallahassee than 20 years ago. And Fred has hired some good people for Florida. I hope it has changed enough that Rudy won’t have a chance even there.
Believe it or not, most people have not been paying that much attention. When campaigns are run in the south, and it becomes clear Rudy is the typical RINO northeastern Republican, Rudy’s support in the south will sour.
“This fight pits in this corner - An actor who had to talked into a Presidential gig - and in the other corner - A Batsh’it wife cheating liar. This is a contest to decide who will lead and determine the direction of the Republican Party. Now come out fighting and knock the sh’t out of each other.”
Is Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee a Pro-Growth, Economic Conservative?
Taxes
The Club for Growth is committed to lower taxes across the board. Lower taxes on work, savings, and investments lead to greater levels of these activities, thus encouraging greater economic growth.
Governor Huckabee touts himself as an economic conservative, writing in his biography that he “pushed through the Arkansas legislature the first major, broad-based tax cuts in state history” and “led efforts to establish a Property Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights” early on as governor (Arkansas Times 09/22/05), but he only offers a small piece of the picture.
It is true that Governor Huckabee fought for an $80 million tax cut package in 1997 that was passed by the Arkansas legislature (Cato Policy
Analysis No. 315, 09/03/98); cut the state capital gains tax in 1999 (The Commercial Appeal 02/29/99); and passed the Property Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights in the same year, limiting the increase in property taxes to 10% a year for individuals and 5% per taxing unit (AP 03/16/99). However, his record over the rest of his ten-year tenure tells a starkly different story.
Immediately upon taking office, Governor Huckabee signed a sales tax hike in 1996 to fund the Games and Fishing Commission and the Department of Parks and Tourism (Cato Policy Analysis No. 315, 09/03/98).
He supported an internet sales tax in 2001 (Americans for Tax Reform 01/07/07).
He publicly opposed the repeal of a sales tax on groceries and medicine in 2002 (Arkansas News Bureau 08/30/02).
He signed bills raising taxes on gasoline (1999), cigarettes (2003) (Americans for Tax Reform 01/07/07), and a $5.25 per day bed-tax on private nursing home patients in 2001 (Arkansas New Bureau 03/01/01).
He proposed another sales take hike in 2002 to fund education improvements (Arkansas News Bureau 12/05/02).
He opposed a congressional measure to ban internet taxes in 2003 (Arkansas News Bureau 11/21/03).
In 2004, he allowed a 17% sales tax increase to become law (The Gurdon Times 03/02/04).
By the end of his ten-year tenure, Governor Huckabee was responsible for a 37% higher sales tax in Arkansas, 16% higher motor fuel taxes, and 103% higher cigarette taxes according to Americans for Tax Reform (01/07/07), garnering a lifetime grade of D from the free-market Cato Institute.
While he is on record supporting making the Bush tax cuts permanent, he joined Democrats in criticizing the Republican Party for tilting its tax policies “toward the people at the top end of the economic scale” (Washington Examiner 09/13/06), even though objective evidence demonstrates that the Bush tax cuts have actually shifted the tax burden to higher income taxpayers.
Finally, Governor Huckabee opposed further tax cuts at a 2005 gathering of Iowa conservatives (AP 09/17/05). On January 28, 2007, Governor Huckabee refused to pledge not to raise taxes if elected President, first on Meet the Press and then at the National Review Conservative Summit. The evidence suggests that his commitment to protecting taxpayers evidenced in his early gubernatorial years may be a thing of the past.
Spending
The Club for Growth is committed to reducing government spending. Less spending enhances economic growth by enabling lower taxes and diminishing the economically inefficient political allocation of resources.
Under Governor Huckabee’s watch, state spending increased a whopping 65.3% from 1996 to 2004, three times the rate of inflation (Americans for Tax Reform 01/07/07).
The number of state government workers rose 20% during his tenure (Arkansas Leader 04/15/06), and the state’s general obligation debt shot up by almost $1 billion, according to Americans for Tax Reform.
The massive increase in government spending is due in part to the number of new programs and expansion of already existing programs initiated by Governor Huckabee, including ARKids First, a multimillion-dollar government program to provide health coverage for thousands
of Arkansas’ children (Arkansas News Bureau 04/13/06).
These large increases in government borrowing and spending significantly impede economic growth.
http://www.clubforgrowth.org/2007/01/a_report_on_mike_huckabees_fis.php
BWAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!
Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Reference
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